The Churchill Series - Nov. 29, 2005

(One of a series of daily posts about the life of Winston S. Churchill.)

It was March 29, 1944 and past 2 AM in London.

The Prime Minister had just refused a resignation offer from a Cabinet Member who had failed to win Parliament's support for a crucial bill. They would turn things around in the morning, Churchill assured him. Then he prepared for bed.

The next morning he read documents, received and made phone calls, dictated memos and minutes, and at 9:30 met with Lord Cherwell. By 11:30 he was in Commons for Prime Minister's question time. Afterwards, he made a statement on an education bill and planned strategy for its passage. Then he left Commons for a 1:30 formal luncheon with prominent guests.

After the luncheon, Churchill continued to read, dictate, and take calls while he prepared for a 3 PM meeting with American Air Force General Ira Eaker. Eaker's Eighth Air Force bombers were at that time carrying out raids intended to cripple the Germans' ability to reinforce the Normandy beaches after the Allied invasion, then just weeks away.

Following his meeting with Eaker, Churchill took a nap; and then resumed work.

At 8:30 that evening he dined with General Bernard Law Montgomery, who would command Allied ground forces on D-Day.

On that March 29, Churchill was one day shy of age 69 years and 4 months. In the preceding three years, he had suffered at least two heart attacks and three bouts of pneumonia.
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Martin Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill: Road to Victory, VII. ( See pg. 720-21 for events of March 29, and the index for other documentation)